ND senator one of few Democrats to vote for short-term funding bill; Klobuchar said Senate working on agreement

U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., both voted for a short-term funding bill to keep the government operating, while Minnesota’s two Democratic senators -- Amy Klobuchar and newly appointed Tina Smith -- voted against the bill.

The bill failed 50-49, mostly due to “no” votes by several Republicans and a mostly united Democratic Senate delegation.

All three members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation voted in favor of the short-term budget deal, with Heitkamp being one of a handful of red-state Democrats to support the procedural motion to advance the legislation, according to the New York Times. It needed 60 votes to pass, but received only 50.

Heitkamp, who along with other Democrats introduced legislation to withhold pay from members of Congress during a government shutdown, said her vote "to keep the government open is not an endorsement for a bill that just kicks the can down the road another few weeks." She called for a long-term, bipartisan compromise.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., blamed Democrats for blocking the bill's passage "because they want (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) added with no meaningful border security." He said the legislation included the reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, which had its funding expire in September, and the suspension of two Affordable Care Act taxes.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., noted the House already passed the budget deal this week before negotiations fell apart in the Senate.

"The House did its job; it is time for the Senate Democrats to do theirs," he said in a statement.

Heitkamp said this time her salary will go to the Missouri Slope Areawide United Way during the shutdown. She also refused to take pay during the last government shutdown in 2013.

In a statement on Saturday, Klobuchar said, “I spent Friday working on a bipartisan solution to our country's budget issue with a number of my Republican colleagues. Today I will go at it again and work through the weekend — we must get a long-term budget agreement done.”

The Senate went back into session at 11 a.m. to try to work out a possible compromise, while the House was in session earlier in the day.

A call to Smith’s office wasn’t returned as of noon Saturday.